Gov. Warns Federalizing National Guard Would Cause Civil War

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has warned that a civil war could break out if President Joe Biden follows some Democrats’ suggestion regarding Texas National Guard forces.

During an interview on Sunday, Noem warned that Biden might spark a civil war if he tries to federalize Texas National Guard forces.

“If he’s willing to do that and take away my authority as governor as commander-in-chief of those National Guard, boy, we do have a war on our hands,” she stated.

Noem’s remarks come amid a standoff between the Biden administration and Texas officials over control of a park near Eagle Pass and the deployment of razor wire on the Rio Grande to deter illegal immigrants.

In addition to deploying meters of razor wire across the border area, the Texas National Guard and state law enforcement officials continue to block federal Border Patrol agents from getting near the border area to remove the wire.

The U.S. Supreme Court has only escalated the standoff by ruling on Jan. 22 that federal agents can remove the razor wire and access the blocked area. However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is insistent on protecting Texas’ borders, an effort supported by most Republican politicians, including Noem.

However, some Democrats, including Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), have suggested a workaround for Biden. In what Noem called an effort to come after states’ rights, Castro urged Biden to federalize National Guard units, saying, “Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border. If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, [Biden] needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now.”

The White House has, however, not indicated whether Biden plans on following the advice. When asked if the idea was being considered last month, White House National Security Adviser John Kirby stated, “I don’t have any decisions to speak to for the president. I don’t have anything on that.”

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Either way, Abbott has said that Texas is “prepared” if the president ever decides to seize control of the National Guard.

“We are prepared in the event that that unlikely event does occur to make sure that we will be able to continue exactly what we’ve been doing over the past month, and that is building these barriers,” the governor told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson during his “Uncensored” show.